What was the organization established after World War I to punish aggression and maintain peace?

League of Nations League of Nations (English: League of Nations; French: sociétédes national；; ; LON (or League of Nations for short) is an international organization established after World War I, aiming at reducing the number of weapons and resolving international disputes. However, the League of Nations could not effectively stop fascist aggression. It was replaced by the United Nations after World War II. The League of Nations, an international organization formed after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, reached its peak from September 28th, 65438 to February 23rd, 65438.

Palais des Nations-former League of Nations headquarters

Palais des Nations-former headquarters of the League of Nations [1]

The United Nations once had 58 member states. The purpose is to reduce the number of weapons, calm international disputes and maintain people's living standards. During its 26 years of existence, the League of Nations has helped mediate some international disputes and handled some international problems. However, the League of Nations lacks military strength, so it depends on the assistance of big countries, especially when sanctions are imposed on certain countries. When necessary, the League of Nations will also ask big countries to provide military assistance. However, the League of Nations lacked the coercive force to implement the resolution and failed to play its due role. Its international sanctions also affect the members of the League of Nations (such as the United States and western countries) who also impose sanctions.

Because its design is not perfect, for example, it is stipulated that there is no overall reduction of armaments, or that the Security Council must vote unanimously before taking action against the aggressors. The United States did not join the League of Nations, which made it lose its firm and moderate support. Therefore, in the end, the League of Nations could not prevent international disputes and effectively prevent fascist aggression and the outbreak of World War II. After World War II, with the development and intensification of contradictions among countries, the League of Nations went bankrupt and was eventually replaced by the United Nations. The League of Nations was an international organization established shortly after the end of the First World War. During the First World War, some bourgeois peace groups in the United States actively advocated the establishment of an institution to mediate international disputes. American President Wilson was very much in favor of this idea and wrote it into his "fourteen-point principle", urging the establishment of an organization like the League of Nations. 1919 65438+10/8 After the Paris Peace Conference, Wilson insisted on discussing the establishment of the League of Nations first, and advocated that the Covenant of the League of Nations should be listed as an essential part of the peace treaty with Germany. However, under the manipulation of Britain and France, the Paris Peace Conference decided to set up a drafting committee of the League of Nations Covenant, with Wilson as its chairman. In this way, Wilson's request to establish the League of Nations first was not adopted. The drafting committee of the Covenant of the League of Nations received drafts and statements from many countries and groups, and held a heated debate on the issue of appointing colonies and dependent countries of defeated countries, incorporating the Monroe Doctrine into the Covenant, and opposing racial discrimination on immigration issues. The Covenant of the League of Nations was revised 26 times and adopted at the Paris Peace Conference on April 28th in 19 19. The first part of the Treaty of Versailles is the Covenant of the League of Nations. The organization, functions, principles and obligations of the members of the League of Nations are stipulated in the Convention. On the day when the peace treaty came into effect, the League of Nations was formally established under the auspices of Wilson. All the countries that declared war on the German-Austrian Group in World War I and the newly established countries were the founding members of the League of Nations. In this way, the League of Nations * * * has 44 member countries, and then gradually increased to 63 countries, with its headquarters in Geneva. China joined the League of Nations on June 29th. 1920. [2]

The main institutions of the League of Nations are the General Assembly, the Council and the Secretariat, with the International Court of Justice and the International Labour Office attached, of which the Council is the most important institution. According to the Covenant, the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Japan are permanent members, and there are four non-permanent members. Although the United States was one of the sponsors, it did not participate because it failed to compete with Britain and France for leadership. So before Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926, there were only four permanent members. The League of Nations is mainly manipulated by Britain and France. According to the Covenant of the League of Nations, the duties of the Council are: to draft disarmament plans, examine the annual reports submitted by countries according to their mandates, safeguard the territorial integrity of member States, submit proposals to the General Assembly for the settlement of international disputes, and impose economic and military sanctions on aggressors.

Although the League of Nations was the first attempt by countries to establish international institutions to prevent armed conflicts and strengthen universal peace and security, it did not play a role in maintaining peace in practice. The "Covenant" stipulates that placing German colonies under the League of Nations trusteeship is actually equivalent to handing over these colonies to countries such as Britain, France and Japan for colonial rule. Its role is only to help imperialism redefine its sphere of influence and consolidate the post-war imperialist system.

After World War II, with the development and intensification of contradictions between imperialism, the League of Nations inevitably went bankrupt. 1946 In April, the League of Nations was dissolved and all its property and archives were handed over to the United Nations. [3] Source Edit

Meeting site of the League of Nations

Meeting site of the League of Nations

The idea of a peaceful international society can be traced back to 1795. In the book "Permanent Peace: An Overview of Philosophy" published that year, Emanuel Kant put forward the idea of parliamentary government and world federation. European coordination (18 14- 1870) also began to develop after the Napoleonic wars in the19th century, which helped to maintain European security and avoid wars. This period also promoted the development of international law (including the Geneva Conventions and The Hague Conventions) and set a standard for humanitarianism in international law. 1889, British pacifist William Randal Cremer and French pacifist Frederic Passy founded the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the pioneer of the League of Nations. At that time, about one third of the world's 100 national parliaments were members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. 19 14, 24 countries with parliaments are members of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Its mission is to encourage governments to resolve international disputes through peaceful means, and the annual meeting will help governments simplify international arbitration procedures. Its structure includes a parliament, which became the predecessor of the League of Nations structure.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Germany, Austria and Hungary formed the Allies, and Britain, France, Russia and Italy formed the Allies camp. From then on, Europe was divided into two camps, and later it evolved into World War I ... This was the first war between industrialized countries, and it was also the "achievement" brought by industrialization. This "industrial war" has caused incalculable casualties and economic losses. After the war, it also brought a huge impact, affecting the social, political and economic systems in Europe. At this time, the global anti-war wave is heating up, and people describe World War I as "the war to end all wars". Some people think that the reasons for the outbreak of war are the arms race, alliance opposition, secret diplomacy, the freedom of monarchies and new imperialism. On the other hand, people of insight hope to establish an international organization to handle disputes in the form of international cooperation.

As early as the First World War, some governments and organizations had begun to make plans to change international relations in order to avoid the recurrence of the world war. British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey is considered to be the first person to propose the establishment of an international alliance. Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States, and Colonel Edward M. House, his adviser, were very interested in this proposal, believing that war could be avoided and the mistakes of World War I would not be repeated. The idea of the League of Nations also comes from the last point of Wilson's 14-point peace principle: "Establish an international joint organization, and all countries guarantee each other's political independence and territorial integrity."

After World War I, at the Paris Peace Conference on1919 65438+128 October, a drafting committee headed by Wilson was sent to draft the League of Nations Covenant under the control of Britain and France, preparing to form the League of Nations to oppose international production. 1965438+On June 28th, 2009, 44 countries signed the Covenant (3/kloc-0 of 44 countries supported the three-nation agreement or joined the Allies in wartime). 1920 65438+ 10/0 On the day when the Treaty of Versailles came into effect, the League of Nations was formally established under the auspices of Wilson. All the countries that declared war on the Allies in World War I and the newly established countries were the founding members of the League of Nations. Although Wilson devoted himself to the establishment of the League of Nations and won the Nobel Peace Prize, the United States did not join the League of Nations because it failed to compete with Britain and France for leadership. 1920 65438+ 10/9 The United States Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and the Covenant of the League of Nations, and refused to join the League of Nations.

The first parliamentary meeting of the League of Nations was held in Paris in June 1920+16 10 (six days after the entry into force of the Treaty of Versailles). In June of the same year, 5438+065438+ 10, the headquarters of the League of Nations was moved to the Palais Wilson in Geneva. 1 15 On June 65438+ 10/5, the League of Nations held its first plenary meeting at its headquarters, and representatives from 4 1 countries attended the meeting.

1922 The League of Nations issued nansen passport to stateless refugees, which was finally recognized by 52 countries. During the period of 1920, the League of Nations successfully settled some minor disputes. However, the League of Nations was unable to cope with the major conflicts in the 1930s and World War II. 1946 April 18 The League of Nations was officially dissolved and the United Nations continued its mission. [4]

function

The League of Nations aims at maintaining international peace and promoting international cooperation. The convention stipulates that measures such as collective security, disarmament and peaceful settlement of international disputes should be taken to safeguard the territorial integrity and political independence of member States, and economic sanctions should be imposed on violators. [5]

In the 1920s and early 1930s, the League of Nations mainly devoted itself to resolving some territorial disputes, such as the dispute between Sweden and Finland over the Oran Islands, the dispute between Lithuania and Poland over Vilnius, and the dispute between Turkey and Iraq over Mosul. In addition, it mediated between Bolivia and Paraguay and did a lot of work to end the protracted Chaco war. In order to prevent war, the League of Nations also organized the Geneva Disarmament Conference, which specially arranged the "mandate rule".

In addition, the League of Nations also pays attention to and assists in dealing with international issues such as health, intellectual property exchange, slave trade, opium trade, refugees and women's rights. For example, 1922, the League of Nations awarded nansen passport to stateless refugees, which was recognized by 52 countries. [4]

language

The official languages of the League of Nations are French, English and Spanish (since 1920). Although the League of Nations adopted Esperanto as their working language and actively encouraged its use, Esperanto did not become the official language because France believed that Esperanto would affect the status of French.

192 1 year, Lord Robert Cecil put forward a proposal to introduce esperanto in national schools of member countries and an investigation report on this proposal. Two years later, the representative of 1 1 from the League of Nations passed the draft of teaching Esperanto in schools. However, this move attracted strong opposition from Gabriel Hanotaux, the representative of France, and threatened to defend French, which is already an international language. The bill to make Esperanto the official language was later rejected.

symbol

The League of Nations has no flag or symbol of its own. 1920, the League of Nations put forward a proposal to establish an official symbol, but the member countries still failed to reach an understanding and the proposal was abandoned. But international organizations use different flags and symbols in their own activities. 1929, the league of nations held an international competition to collect logo patterns, but later failed to determine the logo scheme. Finally, the semi-official badge didn't appear until 1939. The badge was decorated with a blue five-pointed star and two five-pointed stars on it. The five-pointed star and the five-pointed star symbolize five continents and five races, and there are badges on the national flag. The English name of the League of Nations and the French name of the National Association are written above and below the national flag respectively. This flag was used in the buildings of the new york World Expo from 1939 to 40.

4 institutional editor

The main institutions of the League of Nations are the General Assembly of the League of Nations, the Executive Yuan, the Secretariat and the Permanent Court of International Justice.

General Assembly of the League of Nations

It is composed of all member States, and all member States of the League of Nations have the right to send up to three representatives to attend the conference, and each country has one vote. Unless otherwise stipulated in the Convention, the resolutions of the General Assembly must be adopted unanimously. The general assembly has the right to deal with "any event that falls within the scope of the alliance's actions or is related to world peace."

executive yuan

It is the most important institution of the League of Nations. It was originally composed of representatives of five permanent members and four non-permanent members. 1920 when the executive yuan was established, Britain, France, Italy and Japan were permanent members, and the United States did not ratify the treaty, so the permanent seats remained vacant. Germany became a permanent member in 1926, and the Soviet union became a permanent member in 1934. Germany and Japan withdrew from the permanent seat of 1933, and Italy withdrew from the permanent seat of 1937. 1939 The Soviet Union was expelled. Therefore, by 1939, only Britain and France will remain permanent members. The number of non-permanent members increased to six in 1922, nine in 1926 and 1 1 in 1939. Unless otherwise stipulated in the contract, the resolution of the Executive Yuan must be unanimously adopted. Abstentions and votes of the disputing parties are not counted. The functions and powers of the Executive Yuan also include the powers of expelling the members of the League of Nations, allocating mandated areas, proposing collective military actions to member States in the event of aggression, and appointing the Secretary-General.

secretariat

It is the permanent office of the League of Nations. Under the leadership of the Secretary-General, it consists of about 400 staff members. The Secretary-General is appointed by the Executive Yuan with the consent of the League of Nations General Assembly. There are three secretaries-general of the League of Nations: 1920- 1933, Sir James Eric drummond of Britain; 1933 ——1940 Avenol, Yue Se; 1940 ——1946 Thain Lester Ireland.

Permanent Court of International Justice

Also known as the Permanent Court of International Adjudication, it is an autonomous institution within the League of Nations system. Its functions and powers are to hear cases raised by various countries and provide opinions on matters raised by the Executive Yuan or the General Assembly. The court is located in The Hague, the Netherlands, and consists of 1 1 judges (later increased to 15) and four reserve judges. Judges are elected by the General Assembly of the League of Nations and the Executive Yuan respectively, and those who have obtained majority votes in both organs are elected.

Other affiliated institutions of the League of Nations include the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the Intellectual Cooperation Committee and the Refugee Committee.

5 Edited by Member States.

Of the 42 founding members of the League of Nations, 23 (24 if free France is included) remained in the League of Nations until its dissolution. In the founding year (1920), six countries joined, and only two of them stayed in the League of Nations until its dissolution. Subsequently, a total of 2 1 non-founding members successively joined the League of Nations. During the period from Ecuador's accession on September 28th, 1934 to Paraguay's withdrawal on February 23rd, 65438, the maximum number of members of the League of Nations was 58.

6. Appointed editors

1965438+On June 28th, 2009, the League of Nations signed Article 22 of the Statute of the League of Nations, which formally established the mandated place of the League of Nations. When this item in the Statute of the League of Nations was incorporated into the Charter of the United Nations at the end of 1945, all the trust territories of the League of Nations (except southwest Africa, that is, Namibia today) became trust territories of the United Nations, which was previously agreed at the Yalta Conference. The mandated areas of the League of Nations were under the responsibility of the Mandate Committee, and all the mandated areas were colonies of the defeated countries in World War I, mainly the Second German Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

7 Dissolve the editor

Headquarters of the League of Nations: Palais des Nations, Switzerland

Headquarters of the League of Nations: Palais des Nations, Switzerland

Since its establishment, the League of Nations has been controlled by a few big countries, such as Britain and France, and has become a tool in the hands of big countries. Facing the formation and external expansion of the fascist alliance between Germany, Italy and Japan in 1930s, the League of Nations controlled by Britain and France actually pursued a policy of appeasement at the expense of the territory and sovereignty of small and medium-sized countries, which paralyzed the League of Nations. After the outbreak of World War II, the League of Nations existed in name only. With the end of World War II and the establishment of the United Nations, the League of Nations passed a resolution in April 1946, announcing its dissolution and handing over all its property and archives to the United Nations. [5]